It seemed that the more the two Impossibles struggled, the more entangled in the web they became. Finally, they managed to tear free of the web, and they took off running, with the Jabberwocky right behind them. The monster easily tore away the webbing with his claws.
"We've got to lose this thing!" Coiley shouted. "We'll never be able to find Fluey if it gets us first!"
"Over there!" Multi shouted, pointing to a small opening in a group of trees.
The two Impossibles ran through the opening easily, but the Jabberwocky was far too big to go through. And, as luck would have it, the trees, brush, and shrubbery were too thick for the monster to crawl through. Giving out a loud roar, the beast gave up, and flew away.
"That did it," Multi said. "I knew he'd never be able to fit through here."
"Maybe we ought to follow it," Coiley said. "It could lead us straight to Fluey."
"And it could sense we're following it, and tear us to shreds," Multi pointed out.
"Good point."
"We're better off looking for the eighth square on our own. I don't think I'm ready to mess with that overgrown lizard."
Coiley agreed, and the boys were off again. As they were walking down a road, they were spotted by none other than the White King.
"Pardon me, young gentlemen!" he called out. "But did you happen to see my two messengers as you came through the wood?"
"No, your majesty," Coiley said. "We haven't seen anybody . . . . . except an overgrown lizard."
"Would you two mind looking along this road and tell me if you see either of them?" the White King asked.
"Sure," Multi said. He looked down the road for a couple of minutes, then turned to the White King, and shrugged.
"I don't see anybody," he said, shrugging. "Nobody's coming."
"Ahhh, if only I had such eyes," the king said. "To be able to see nobody . . . . ."
"Oh, wait a minute, somebody's coming now," Multi said, as what appeared to be a messenger came down the path toward the White King and the two Impossibles.
"Ah yes," the king said, standing up. "That one is Hayor. My other messenger is called Hatter. I must have two, you know. One to come, and one to go."
"Beg pardon?" Coiley asked, confused.
"It isn't respectable to beg!" the king shouted.
It was at that moment when Hayor the messenger arrived where the group was standing.
"Your majesty!" he shouted, causing the White King to jump nearly a mile high.
"You startled me!" he shouted, smacking his messenger in the face. "I feel faint. Give me a ham sandwich!"
"Nothing but hay left," Hayor said.
"Well, then, give it to me," the king said, and he turned to the boys. "There's nothing like eating hay when one feels faint."
"I think cold water would be better," Multi commented.
"I didn't say there was nothing better!" the White King shouted. "I said there was nothing like it! Anyway, what's the news, messenger?"
"They're at it again!" Hayor shouted.
"Who's at it again?" Coiley asked.
"The lion and the unicorn, of course!" the King shouted. "Come along, we shall get to the bottom of this!"
And with that, the White King and Hayor began to walk off. Multi and Coiley looked at each other, and decided to follow them, mostly out of curiosity, but they also figured maybe either the lion, or the unicorn might be able to help them.
The quartet reached a part of the forest, where several creatures were gathered. One was definitely a lion, only he stood on two legs, and he was fighting with a unicorn, also standing on two legs. After what Multi and Coiley had seen already, this didn't surprise them. They, were, however, a little surprised to see a unicorn up close and in person.
"I never thought I'd actually see a for real unicorn!" Coiley shouted.
"Me neither," Multi said. "The closest I've come are Windy's old My Little Pony dolls."
The boys were brought out of their thoughts for a moment when the lion let out a fierce roar, and swiped at the unicorn's head. In retaliation, the unicorn whinnied, and gave the lion a poke in the side with his horn, nearly shish kebab-ing him. The two Impossibles cringed upon seeing this.
"Wow, this is a pretty ugly fight," Coiley said.
"All right, all right!" the White King shouted, as he, Hayor, and the two Impossibles approached the fight. "Ten minutes allotted for refreshments!"
"I had the best of it this time!" the unicorn shouted.
"You shouldn't have run him through with your horn," the White King said.
"It didn't hurt him!" the unicorn argued. Then he noticed Coiley and Multi standing there, and immediately got to his feet.
"What are those?!" he asked, somewhat bewildered.
"A couple of boys we found today," the White King said. "They're as large as life, and twice as natural!"
"Boys?" the unicorn asked. "As in . . . . . children?!"
"Well, unless you think sixteen is still a child," Coiley said. "But we'd disagree with you."
"But . . . . b-b-but . . . . I always thought children were fabulous monsters! Only found in fairy tales!" the unicorn shouted, still a bit bewildered.
"Yeah, and I always thought unicorns were only in fairy tales, too," Multi said.
"Me, too," Coiley said. "We've never seen one in person before."
"Well . . . . ." the unicorn said. "Now that we have seen one another, if you will believe in me, I will believe in you. Is it a bargain?"
"Sure," Multi said. "Boy, Windy will never believe this! She's always wanted to see a real unicorn!"
"Wheee-heee-heee-heeee!" the unicorn whinnied happily, and then neighed.
"Are you animal, vegetable, or mineral?" the lion suddenly asked. The unicorn rolled his eyes.
"You dum-dum!" he shouted, standing up. "I've already told you, they're fabulous monsters!"
"Then hand around the cake, monsters!" the lion shouted, pointing toward two people bringing in some kind of cake on a plate, along with a knife.
"Right away, sir!" Coiley shouted, sproinging over to the woman holding the cake.
"Be careful," the woman said. "If you drop it, the lion will eat you!"
"I wouldn't do that," the lion said. "Not yet, anyway!"
"Oh please, don't say that!" Multi shouted.
"Yeah, you're making me nervous," Coiley replied.
"Don't do as he says, monster," the unicorn said.
"Don't listen to him, cut the cake!" the lion demanded.
"And I say don't!" the unicorn shouted.
"And I say do!" the lion shouted.
"Oooohh, what a fight we might have for the crown now, sir!" the unicorn yelled.
"And I would surely win!" the lion growled. "I would beat you all around the town!"
"All right, all right, enough is enough," the White King said. Then he turned to Coiley. "Cut the cake, already."
Saying nothing, Coiley picked up the knife, and sliced the cake in half. Then, without warning, the cake merged back together again. Coiley and Multi looked at each other, strangely. Then Multi took the knife, and tried cutting the cake again. Once he cut it, it merged back together.
"They seem to be having a hard time cutting that cake," the lion said.
"You don't know how to serve Looking Glass cake!" the unicorn yelled. "You hand it around first, and then you cut it!"
"Sounds pretty strange if you ask me," Multi said. He put the knife down, picked up the cake, and held it up to the lion and the unicorn. The minute he did, the cake split, as if it had been sliced in half.
"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it," he said.
"Hey, I see it, and I still don't believe it!" Coiley shouted.
"This isn't fair!" the unicorn shouted. "The monsters have given the lion twice as much as me!"
"Well, they've kept none for themselves, anyhow!" the lion shouted, and then he turned toward the two Impossibles. "Do you like plum cake, monsters?"
"Well . . . ." Coiley began, but he was interrupted by the sound of a loud drum.
"Hey, what's that drumming?" Multi asked, covering his ears.
"I don't know!" Coiley shouted, covering his own ears to drown out the deafening beats. "Hey! Your majesty! What's with the drumming?!"
The White King paid no attention. It was like he couldn't even hear Coiley. The lion, the unicorn, and all the other creatures seemed to be the same. Not one of them heard a thing the two Impossibles were saying.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Multi shouted, to be heard over the drums.
"Yeah! We've still got to find the eighth square!" Coiley shouted.
And with that, the two Impossibles ran down a path, hoping that drumming would stop soon.
The drumming was so loud, it could be heard practically all around Looking Glass Land, including the eighth square. Fluey began coming to his senses again, though with a pounding headache, thanks to the noise.
"Ooohhh . . . . ." he groaned, rubbing the side of his head. "Who's the joker with the drum? It's giving me a headache!"
"The lion and the unicorn must be at it again," the Knave of Hearts grumbled. "They always beat the drums when those two have been fighting."
"Doesn't it bother you?" Fluey asked.
"You get used to it when you've lived here long enough. It'll stop after awhile."
After a few more drum beats, the noise finally stopped, much to Fluey's relief. He let out a whistle, and continued messaging his head.
"Boy, is my head ever killing me!" he shouted.
"Yes, it is quite loud, isn't it?" the Knave of Hearts said. "I shall have to put a stop to it once I'm king of Wonderland. So, how's about it, boy? Are you going to steal the Wonderland crown jewels for me?"
"I'd rather be sent through the deep freeze, chopped into ice cubes, shaved into slush, and be scooped up as snow cones for the kids in my neighborhood!"
The Knave of Hearts let out what sounded like a mix between a growl and a scream. Fluey just sat there in the cage, arms folded across his chest.
"I ought to boil you in oil for your insubordination!" the Knave of Hearts shouted. "I ought to throw you in the rack and stretch you out until you're torn in half! I ought to . . . . . ."
Before the Knave of Hearts could continue, the Jabberwocky flew into the window, and grunted.
"Back, I see," the Knave said. "Anything out there I should be concerned about?"
The Jabberwocky grunted, snorted, and growled, and the Knave of Hearts nodded, murmuring "mm hmmm" and "I see" over and over again. Fluey watched, and rolled his eyes.
"Two boys were trying to find us, eh?" the Knave said. "You scared them off? Very good. I want no one to find me here, until I obtain the crown jewels of Wonderland!"
"Yeah, that'll be a big, fat never, pal!" Fluey shouted.
"You'd better change your tune about stealing the crown jewels, boy! Especially if you want your freedom!"
"My answer's the same, buster! No!"
The Knave of Hearts nodded to the Jabberwocky, and the monster gave the cage another whack with his tail. Then the beast blew another dose of it's knock out smoke in the dark-haired Impossible's face, rendering him unconscious once more.
"I can wait just as long as you can, boy," the Knave of Hearts said. "I'll get those crown jewels and rule Wonderland if it's the last thing I do!"